I wanted to provide an update to Vince Young’s prior coverage of Stainmaster carpet’s move to Lowe’s and share an article by Chris Burritt that just appeared in Business Week detailing how the dust has settled. The net is that Martha Stewart now has the featured brand of carpet at the #1 carpet retailer in the US, Home Depot.

In today’s environment it is rare that a brand drops a major retailer. Once the shock wears off, you can see how major moves by competitors, particularly exclusive deals, can create retail leverage opportunities.

While the STAINMASTER brand has considerable equity in the home furnishings and flooring industries, the team at INVISTA was able to gain distribution at the world’s second largest DIY/Hardware chain by thinking like a challenger brand and adopting two key strategies to gain Retail Leverage.